Investment

Investments central to mayor’s second State of the City address

Published

6 months ago

May 2, 2024

Municipal investments were central to Mayor Paul Lefebvre’s second annual State of the City Address, which he delivered at the Caruso Club on May 2.

“Now is the time for us to invest in our community, ourselves, our children, and our future,” Lefebvre said.

“Council has demonstrated courage and vision through many recent decisions and direction for policy development that will foster an environment that is conducive to local growth and development in all areas.”

The annual address was hosted by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, whose past-chair Anthony Davis described it as carrying “great news” for the city.

A packed audience watches Mayor Paul Lefebvre deliver his State of the CIty Address at the Caruso Club on Thursday. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com

Prior to last month’s unanimous vote of city council to greenlight a new $200-million arena/events centre in the city’s downtown core, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Debbie Nicholson wrote a letter to the editor advocating for the project.

“We may not end up with only an arena,” she told Sudbury.com after Thursday’s address, adding that with the land the city purchased to accompany the project there’s enough room to accompany complementary services. “It could be a major hotel with a conference centre, which is so desperately needed in our community.”

Given its economic impacts, Davis said the economic benefits of a new arena building made the decision a “no brainer.”

Although the $200-million build (plus another more than $20 million for the downtown land purchase/demolition to make way for ancillary services) is by far the single-greatest investment Lefebvre addressed during his address, various others, such as the $65-million Cultural Hub at Tom Davies Square and capital roads budgets were also addressed.

*Mayor Paul Lefebvre is seen in silhouette during Thursday’s State of the City Address at the Caruso Club. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com*

Including a 1.5-per-cent annual special tax levies city council tacked on to future municipal budgets, he said a quarter-billion will be spent on municipal roads in the next five years; all to help fill the city’s well-established annual infrastructure-spending gap, which as of last year totalled approximately $130 million.

As Lefebvre has repeatedly said, including during his inaugural State of the City address last year, housing remains an important part of the city’s economic development goals. His goal is still hitting a population of 200,000 by 2050, which is on the upper end of municipal projections.

The $113-million, 349-unit Project Manitou affordable housing complex downtown currently under construction is one big success story, he said, citing Panoramic Properties’ proposed redevelopment of the old Paris Street hospital site into 430 residential units as another.

“All these projects and the countless others going up across our community are fantastic housing developments in our community that cannot be built quick enough,” he said.

“The landscape of our community is changing. We are growing and growing the right way.”

There are various ongoing efforts to help create an environment that favours development, he said, including the development of 54 calls for action aimed at helping spur economic development through the Future Ready Development Services Ad-Hoc Committee of city council and an upcoming Housing Supply Strategy. City council anticipates reports on both of these efforts later this year.

Mayor Paul Lefebvre speaks to a packed audience during Thursday’s State of the City Address at the Caruso Club. Pictured behind him is the Project Manitou affordable housing complex currently under construction in downtown Sudbury. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com

During last year’s State of the City address, Lefebvre announced the creation of a new task force on labour attraction. One year later today, he said he’d be making an announcement soon on what he has named the Greater Together Project “to enhance our economic attraction and welcoming efforts while outlining our actions to embrace diversity and inclusion.”

Meanwhile, Lefebvre said the city is also striving to preserve its natural environment, including the city’s efforts toward protecting 30 per cent of its lands and lakes by 2030, which city council voted to proceed with earlier in the week.

Although Lefebvre spent the majority of his more than half-hour speech painting a picture highlighting the prosperous path he believes city council has put the city on, his remarks opened on a solemn note, addressing this year’s deaths of Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini and Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier.

“Both Michael and Gerry were known as passionate and fierce advocates for the communities they represented, Wards 2 and 3, respectively,” he said.

“Michael was beloved for his unique sartorial sense, and his care for the community was evident in his annual No One Eats Alone community Christmas Dinner. Gerry was a visible presence at so many community events, and he certainly knew his way around a classic car.

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Investment

Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

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Investment

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published

3 weeks ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Economy

S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

Published

4 weeks ago

October 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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